Week #45 ('20) Singles
Welcome to my Singles post, where I go over all of the loose songs released over the past week so. These are songs that are not currently attached to projects, and may either be promotional singles for an upcoming project or songs dropped at the random whim of the artist. I’ll show you the single, where to find it out in the wild, and a little blurb about it for my thoughts/further context. Click here to see previous Singles posts.
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2 Chainz (Feat. Mulatto) – Quarantine Thick
So Help Me God, 2 Chainz’ upcoming project, is one I’ve been looking forward to for a minute. There’s just something hilarious about the way Chainz comes across on the microphone, with everything he says being deadly serious but also totally ridiculous, with pretty much every performance he’s ever given being memorable. This single has the added benefit of having a killer trap beat with a fantastic hard-piano instrumental thing going for it. Aaaaaaand there’s Mulatto, who is on a crazy run of features right now, murdering guest appearance after guest appearance in supreme fashion. Count me excited for this new album.
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JID (Feat. Conway the Machine) – Ballads
I don’t know what’s going on here, why this s only on YouTube or what it’s leading up to, but this fuckin’ song is fire and deserves your ears. This beat sound like some of the “Best of 9th Wonder” shit, with a vintage and crackly looped vocal sample backed by a very skeletal frame of bass and drums. Both JID and Conway KILL those rhymes schemes guys, displays of technically proficient rapping that will satisfy every itch you have for smart and entertaining wordplay. There’s no hook, no frills, just three minutes of straight bars broken in half by a sampled intermission. It’s about time that Griselda linked up with this cat, and it couldn’t have possibly been more satisfying.
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Vado (Feat. Dave East & Jim Jones) – Checkmate
As time rolls on and this New York Drill scene gets bigger and more widespread, we’ll be seeing more traditional NY emcees embrace these sounds and bring their own brands of spitting on the sound. I’ve been waiting for Harlem to jump on that wave and show us what they got, and this song here lays out pretty convincingly why these emcees should hop on joints like this more often. A Drill beat in 2020 can be approached spaciously like someone like Fivio does, or it can be approached technically and quickly, which is exactly how these three guys rip this beat apart. Vado and Dave are built to murder an instrumental like this, and even though Jim seems a bit left behind he still makes an impressive showing. If you want that New York street music, this is where you’re going this week.
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Backroad Gee (Feat. Lethal Bizzle & JME) – Enough is Enough
I just learned about this Backroad guy recently whenever he showed up on that D Double E remix, but I’ve been sleeping on this dude for sure. So do y’all remember that guy Big Shaq who was all in the news? I honestly thought that (despite it being hard) it was meant to be a joke… but no you can make music like that and it’s still hard as fuck, with this single right here as solid proof. Gee basically speaks in barks and adlibs, focused more on bombarding and assaulting you with his words and phrases instead of, well, rapping. He can be the beat, the hype-man, and the emcee all at once, and whenever it’s his turn you can’t help but wince a little in fear. JME and Bizzle are great on the track too in their own rights, with Lethal Bizzle being a particular highlight for me. Great energy, banger of a beat, amazing hook; pretty much the cream-of-the-crop in Grime as far as I’m concerned.
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Kap G – Out the Mud
I wish this guy would get bigger. I wish that all of his hard work over years now would pay off more, but it seems like Kap is destined to be a rapper bubbling under the surface. The man has put out unsung hits in the past, and this new track merely continues his admirable grind by giving us yet another banger to hang his hat on. Unlike a lot of people in his lane, I feel like the singing and autotune actually works for him, with a voice that isn’t trash in the slightest to begin with. He has this underdog energy, someone punching up to a place where he should be, on all of his tracks, but he makes it the focus this time around talking about his come-up in the game and struggles. Listen to this if you just want some high-quality auto-trap.
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Tha God Fahim – Rhyme Equity
If there is anyone in this rap-game that I would consider “prolific”, Tha God Fahim is the first one that comes to mind. Every tape he puts out is consistent in quality, with the man knowing exactly what his audience wants to hear at any given time. His lyrics balance between hood-stories and genuine enlightenment, empowering himself and other with his wisdom. He usually produces a lot of his own material, but he goes with a cat named Evolution Beknown on the instrumental on this one, who comes with a grand piano loop that sounds so happy and soulful, perfect for Tha God to wax poetic. There’s really nothing else to say about it: if you’re a fan of Fahim, this single is a no-brainer for you.
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Mike WiLL Made-It (Feat. Nicki Minaj & YoungBoy NBA) – What the Speed Bout!?
It’s been a long time since we’ve gotten a proper album from Mike WiLL: his Ransom 2 tape was, in my opinion, pretty underrated back in the day, going hand in hand with the *criminally* underrated Edgewood tape he did with Trouble, which contained his best beats by far. Since then he’s done a lot of one-off production for a whole host of artists, both in hip-hop and pop/hip-hop adjacent scenes, but now it seems like he’s ready to drop some more personal material. His work on here is very electric and bouncy, where I’m loving the contrast between the higher notes and the lower ones. It’s a very entertaining instrumental, one that feels satisfying to hear loop, but I don’t know how well it is as a beat to actually rap over. It seems more like a riff in a rock song than a trap instrumental. Nicki and YoungBoy both do their thing on this track, no complaints from me. Solid track, give it a shot.
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Yella Beezy (Feat. Gunna) – On Fleek
Beezy is getting ready to drop another album here soon if these singles are any indication, but I figured it would have dropped by now… He had the fantastic Headlocc with Thug earlier this year, Solid with 42 Dugg, and now he’s coming three for three with this new track with Gunna. The man has a knack for Lil-Boosie-inspired flows and hooks that just stick in your head for days, with good ideas for songs behind every track he releases. Getting these features is merely icing on the cake, and they clearly respect Yella Beezy’s work by giving out quality performances. Gunna on this track is crazy with the flows, goes on for a long-ass time, and switches things up multiple times; I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, there probably isn’t a better feature artist worth his price above Gunna. Let’s hope that album drops soon.
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AG Club – Columbia
These guys are really on the come-up in hip-hop these days; I get recommended these dudes all the time, and while I haven’t gone back and listened to this mixtape they dropped back at the beginning of the year, I can hear the potential in the energy and creativity they present. Their other single, Memphis, was clear in its influences, taking major pointers from Three Six Mafia from the delivery on down to the hook, but this new track occupies a much more defined West-Coast space. AG Club as a group is from San Francisco, so this sound makes sense to my ears more than the dark and horror-ish Memphis did (they’re both still fire though). I’m waiting to hear what project they can come through with after all of this buzz surrounding them.
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24kGoldn, Justin Bieber, J Balvin, & iann dior – Mood (Remix)
I wasn’t sold on 24k until I saw his performance on this recent round of XXL cyphers; he really blew it out of the water in my opinion, rapping far better than I thought someone in his lane could. My perception of him has shifted from a Lil Mosey/iann dior type (I fuck with both of those guys but I’m not expecting lyrical murder) to more of a Lil Skies character, where he can hit you with the solid melodies while also being able to spit those bars. That’s what he brings on this track here: lyrical intensity, hard-pressed melody, and flows that are very satisfying to my ears. It’s really only made better by the huge names on here: I’m always down for more Justin Bieber, J Balvin has a short but quality appearance, and iann (who was on the unremixed version too) is still as fire on the remix. I’m really warming up to this dude, and anyone who fucks with good, blended rappers/singers need to give this a shot too.
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Pooh Shiesty (Feat Lil Durk) – Back In Blood
Remember when I talked about that last Gucci Mane tape, and I was saying I have a hard time singling out these new Gucci signees? Well that issue has definitely been resolved for my man Pooh Shiesty here. Think like a Boosie/Dugg type, very southern in delivery, smoother around the edges than a Gucci Mane but still able to convincingly rap about some real street shit. Lil Durk goes crazy on this beat, a huge highlight for me. I’m waiting for a new project from this guy so I can get a better look at his future.
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42 Dugg – Free Woo
This is a good song for all of you fans of Kodak Black and all those other nasally gangsta rappers out there. I love it, but it probably won’t convince anyone who wasn’t already on the wave. I LOVE the goddamn little whistle adlibs this guy has along the back wall of his tracks; I don’t know what it is but just identifying that sound with Dugg is satisfying to me beyond words. Maybe Dugg will have an album out soon, I can only hope.
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Jay 305 & Uce Lee (Feat. The Game & Dom Kennedy) – You Too Much
I’m loving how quick the beat in on this one, with a great bass section and smooth ethereal R&B vocal loop buried deep down in the mix. I wouldn’t say any of the emcees take full advantage of the speed to give us something crazy technical, but on its own the beat is great ear-candy. I wanted to hear more from The Game on here, but I’m satisfied with the quality back-and-forth the three have on this track, with Dom Kennedy being the leader of the pack in my opinion. His voice just cuts through the mix beautifully. I want to see more from Jay305, but more importantly I want to see what Uce Lee can come with in the future, whether that be his own project or something smaller. Good riding music straight out of L.A.
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Unknown T, Vybz Kartel, & Digga D (Feat. Sean D) – Gotcha
A great UK Drill track from some big overseas names right now. Vybz has been a name in the dancehall scene forever, but Unknown T and Digga have been making names for themselves over the past few years in a huge way, and linking up for a big single like this is sure to do them huge favors. The beat is about what you would expect, deep and brutal Drill bass notes on here. Loving some of the flows too. Yeah, listen to this is you fuck with guys like Headie One.
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